Mechanical stoker



R. E. JACKSON AND B. O. YEARWOOD.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED 050.19. 1917.

1,319,004. Patented 001.1111919.

SHEETS-SHEET l.

, chrome? H, E. JACKSON AND B. 0. YARWOOD.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. IB. 1917.

1,319,004. Patented OCI. 14,1919.

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R. E. JACKSON AND B. 0. YEARWOOD.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

4 APPLICATION FILED DEC. I8. 19I7. 1,319,004.

Patented 001. 14,1919.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC.18. |917.

1,319,004. Patented' om. 14,1919.

lsHE'ETs-sHEEr 4.

R. E. JACKSON AND B. OV. YEARWOOD.

MECHANICAL STOKER. Y APPLICATION FILED DEC-18.1%]-

Patented Oct. 14, 1919..

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R. E. JACKSON AND B. 0. YEARWOOD.

MECHANICAL STOKER.

v APPLICATION FILED DEC- IBI I9I7. 1,319,004. I Patented 0@I.14,1919.

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MECHANICAL STOKER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC- IB. I9I7.

Pate'nted Oct. 14, 1919.

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` overfeeding;

the stoker apparatus UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

i ROBERT E. JACKSON AND BYRD O. YEAQB'WOOID, 0F PRINCETON, WESTMECHANICAL STOKER.

To all lwhom z't may conc-em:

. Be it known that we, ROBERT E. JACKSON and BYRD O, ,Ymizwoom citizensof the United States, residing at Princeton, in the county of Mercer andState of West Virginia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mechanical Stokers, of

which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to mechanical stokers, foruse inconnection with rail-I A l 3 way locomotives, maiine furnaces, etc.,

while not necessarily restricted to this use. I

Important objects of the invention are: to provide aV mechanical Stokerof the above mentioned character, which is thoroughly practical; to,provide 'means whereby the fuelin the tender magazine, or' other fuelholding apparatus, is crushed or broken Y ulp, .upon entering theconveyer trough; to provide means to feed or advance the crushed orbroken fuel, to the fire box ofJthe fuinace,in proper quantities,thereby oba constant regulated supply without to provide means formaintaining the'v crushed for broken up fuel in a suitably divided orseparated condition, durin its feeding travel, thereby avoidingliability. of the'fuel becoming packed or clogged; to

'provide means for suitably distributing the fuel in the fire box, uponits introduction' therein toY provide means wherebye parts of may beshifted to a position out `of the way of the door .opening of thefire-box, so that the engine may be manuallylired in the usual manner,upon lthe apparatus becoming inoperative; to provide apparatus of theabove `mentioned character which is adapted for instalment uponv arailway locomotive, without cutting holes in the boiler head or thelike; and to provide novel and simple dri means or transmission forvarious7parts o the ap-` paratus. f Other o b]ects and advantages of theinvention will lbe apparent during the course of the followingdescription.

In the accompanying drawings forming a ,'Fig. 9a isa vSpeciication ofLetters Patent.` Pafened Oct. 14, 1919. Application Vfiled Deceinber 18,1917. Serial No. 207,755. i

. partof this specification and in which like apparatus Fig. 4 is atransverse sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. `5 is alongitudinali-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3,

tus, parts lbeingshown .in section,

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional` view taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the fuel distributing apparatus, part in"section, and part-s omitted Y f 9 is a perspective view ofthe same,

perspective view of a stationary nozzle, Y

Fig. 10a is a horizontal section through the same, i I

Fig. 10 is a perspective -view of an inclined fuel guide, included inthe distrib-y uting apparatus.

Fig. 11 is a central vertical sectional view through an engine, andassociated elements, employed in operating the Stoker apparatus,

Fig. 12 'is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 1212 of Fig. 11,

Fig.y 13 is a vertical sectional viewV taken on line 13,-13'of Fig. 12,

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the conveyer trough,

15 is a`plan view of the same,

Fig. 16 is -a transverse sectional view taken on line 16-16 of 14, and,

Fig. 17 is a transverse section taken 4on line 17 17 of Fig. 14. i

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodimentfof our invention, attention being called first toFigs. 1, 2, 3, 1 4, 15, land- 17,' the numeral 2Q designates the tenderof .the i l v 60 Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the appara* shown moreclearly in Fig, 16, for directing the fuel, such as coal, into aconveyertrough 25. This conveyer trough is sup- Y vported by axles 26,secured thereto, having flanged wheels 27, pivoted thereto. Theseflanged wheels travel upon track rails'28, arranged within the lowerportion of the tender 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. It is thusapparent that the conveyer-trough v is capable of partaking ofrestricted longitudinal movements. i

The rear end of the conveyer-trough 25 is closed by an end 29, and itsforward end is provided with a tubular portion or extension 3() forminga continuation of the conveyertrough, and this extension, as clearlyshown in Fig. 3, is provided' at its discharge end with a sphericallyycurved portion 31, for the purpose to be described. Operating within theconveyer-trough 25 and the tubular extension thereof is a spiralconveyer 32, including a shaft 33 and a spiral vane 34, The rear end ofthe shaft 33 is journaled through the end `29, and is rotatable therein,but held against perceptible longitudinal movement. The spiral vane 34is provided near its peripheral" edge with notches 35, having theirforward edges 36 arranged at substantiallyv a right angle to the edge ofthe vane while their rear edges' 37 are inclined. The function of thenotches 35 visto .suitably break up the coal orother fuel as 1t entersthe conveyer-trough, and passes therethrough.

lT he numeral 38 designates an elevating conveyer apparatus, as a whole,which is carried by the engine 21. This elevating conveyer apparatuscomprises afstationary hopper provided upon its rear side with a'coupling 40, having aJspherically curved portlon 41, to which is'attached, bymeans of 'bolts 42 o r the like, a coacting sphericallycurved portion 43. The portions 41 and 43 form a spherically curvedmember, forthe reception of the spherically c iirved member 31, wherebythe tubular-.portion 30 of the conveyer-trough has a universalconnectionv with the coupling 40. It is thus apparent thaton account ofthis universal connection A and the fact that'the conveyer-trough canmove longitudinallyl within restricted distances, the relatlvemovements'between the englne and tender, may occur, without in any wayinjuring or impairing the action of f the apparatus. It is also apparentthat the spiral conveyer 32 functions to feed the `,properly`crushed orbroken fuel into the hopper 39. i vSecured tothe upper end of-thehopper" A 39 is a longitudinally-adjustable tubular casfv ing 44,including telescoping sections 45 and function.`

46.. As clearly shown in Fig. 5, rack bars 47 are attached to thesection 46, at 48, and these rack bars are engaged by gears 49, whichare rigidly secured to a transverse rotatable shaft 50. The shaft 50(see also Fig. 6) is journaled through.r the lower casing section 45andis provided atk one end with a hand crank 51, to turn the same. dog 52is pivoted near the hand crank 51 to engage the gear 49, and prevent"improper rotation thereof in one direction.

The numeral 53 designates a transverse driving shaft, extending throughthe lower portion of the hopper 39, as shown in Figs.

1, 2, 3 and 6. The meansto drive the shaft 53 will be describedhereinafter] Journaled through the opposite sides of the upper casingsection 46, is a stub shaft 54, shown more clearly in Fig. 5. Rigidlysecured to the shaft 53 is a sprocket wheel 55, and a sprocket wheel 56is carried by the shaft 54. These sprocket wheels are engaged by anendless sprocket chain 57, carrying conveyer buckets 58. The `conveyerbuckets 58, sprocket chain 57, and associated elements constitute anelevating endless belt conveyer.

As more clearly Ishown in Fig. 3, the fire box 59 of the engine isprovided Ywith the usual door opening'60, adapted to be covered b-y adoor 61, which is moved to an open position, out of the way, when ourapparatus is in use. As clearly shown in Fig. the

upper end of the elevating conveyer is ar.-

ranged to discharge theffuel into the ireboX through the door opening60, but if the apparatus should become inoperative, the

casing section 46 may be lowered, by ma nipulation of the head crank51wher/eby the upper end of the elevating conveyer-'will be moveddownwardly to a lowered position, so

'that Iit will not obstruct the door opening les Arranged upon oppositesides of the casing Y section 46 are horizontally swinging door sections.66, hinged at 67. When the door sections 64 and 66 are in the closedposition,

they coact withv the casing section 46 and cover 62V thereof, forsubstantially completely closing the door opening 60. Vhen the casinsection 46 is lowered to the inactive posltion, as hereinbeforeindicated, the door 61 may then be employed to cover the opening 60, andthis door61 is preferably .i

suitably shaped or constructed t0 fulfil this Arranged within the dooropening 60 is fuel distributing apparatus, designated ,as a whole by thenumeral 68. This apparatus comprises a lower plate 69, the forward edge70 of which is preferably curved, as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 9.Near its rear end, the plate 69 is provided with a depending flange 71,adapted for insertion within brackets 72, Within which the same is heldand may be removed therefrom When desired. As more clearly shown in Fig.9, the plate 69 is provided with \a plurality of spaced radial forwardlydiverging ribs or flanges 73. Arranged at the rear ends of the ribs orflanges 73 is a preferably hollow inclined guide plate 74 which is alsospherically curved, with its convex side arranged outermost, andprovided upon its lower side with a depending V-shaped flange -7 5. ThisV-shaped flange receives therein the'ribs or flanges 73, as clearlyindicated in Fig. 8. The V-shaped flange 75 constitutes a supportingmeans for the guide plate 74 and forms a chamber, having communicationwith the spaces between the flanges 73. The guide plate 74 contacts withthe casing section 46 and is thereby retained against lrearwarddisplacement. When the casing it is obvious that the guide plate 74 maybe readily removed, whereby the door opening 60 will not be obstructed.A deflector plate 77 is arranged above the guide plate 74, and isrigidly secured to a rock-shaft 78 whereby it may be moved to diferentangular positions. The rock-shaft 78 is adapted to be turned Iby a crank79, which may be locked in a desired angular position, by any suitablemeans (not shown). It is thus appar- 40 ent that the deflector plate 88prevents the buckets 58 from throwing the fuel through the opening 60,lsuch fuel being directed downwardly upon the inclined guide plate 74,fromwhich it passes on to the plate 69, between the flanges or r'bs 73.

The fuel distributing apparatus comprises a horizontally swinging nozzle80, positioned near and rearwardly of the ribs or flanges 73 andscrew-threaded within the upper end of an upstanding pipe 81, adapted toturn upon itslongitudinal axis. team or compressed air is supplied intothe pipe -81 from a suitable source through the coupling 82 i of anywell known `or preferred type. The pipe 81 is rocked by means of a crank83, having pivotal connection with a pitman 84, extending laterally forpivotal connection with a crank disk 85, as shown. This crank diskrigidly secured to a vertical shaft 86, journaled through bearings 87.-Means to dig'e the shaft 86 will be described hereina r.

In Figs. 9a and 10, is shown a stationary steam lnozzle, comprising atubular body portion 80', screw-threaded into the upper section 46 islowered, as hereinbefore described,

ing apertures 82', as shown. When the stationary nozzle is employed itis located in the central position, rearwardly of the ribs f 73,corresponding to the location of t-he nozzle 80, in Fig. 9.

Arranged above the guide plate 74 is a swinging deflector 74',rigidlysecured to a Vertical rod 75', having a crank 76', rigidlySecured to its lower end. This crank is s Wung Iby a pitman 77',manually moved by any suitable means. B y shifting the detlecting platein either direction, the volume of coal supplied to one side of theplate 74 may be regulated.

The numeral 88 designates an engine, preferably a steam engine of thereciprocatory type. This engine includes a cylinder 89, within which apiston 90 is mounted to reciprocate. The usual valvel mechanism (notshown) is employed for controlling the inlet and exhaust of steam to theopposite ends of the cylinder 89. Connected with the piston 90 is a.depending rod'91, having connection with a vertical reciprocatory bar92. This bar a disk cross head 93, operating within a tubular guide 94having ribs 95, operating within grooves in the disk cross head. At itslower end the bar v92 has a second disk cross head 96 secured thereto,and adapted to operate within a tubular guide 97. Arranged upon theopposite edges of the bar 92 and'secured thereto by any suitable meansare racks 98, in permanent engagement with gears 99, for rotating thesame in opposite directions.L The gears99 are rotatable upon transverseshafts 100, journaled inthe opposite sides of a gear casing 101. Thegears 99 have flanged wheels 102, bolted or otherwise rigidly attachedthereto, as shown at 103. These anged wheels 102 are provided with setsof pawls 104, pivoted thereto as shown at 105. The pawls face in thesame direction, and are disposed to engage with ratchet wheels 106,

which are rigidly secured to the shafts 100.-

Rigidly connected with the shafts 100 are gears 107 engaging a gear 108,arranged therebetween. The gear 108 is rigidly Secured to a stub shaft109, having a gear 110 rigidly secured thereto. The gear 110 engages agear 110. engaging a gear 111, rigidly secured to the shaft 53. In viewof the foregoing description, it is obvious that when the bar 92 movesdownwardly` it will turn the gears 99 and the -flanged wheels 102Secured thereto, in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrowsthereon. The pawls.

carried by the ianged wheel 102 at the left. in Fig. 11, will turnthe'ratchet wheel 106 in the direction of the arrow thereon, while thepawls 104 carried by theflanged wheel 102 to theright will trip upon theratchet shaft 110 to the left, driving the gear 107,

114, pivotally supported turn drives the carried thereby, which in tothe gear 108. This rotation is imparted.

shaft 53, as is obvious. VUpon the upstroke.

of the bar 92, the ratchet wheel 106 to the right will be turned in thedirection of its arrow, while the other ratchet wheel will be idle. Theshaft 100, to the right is rotated, which rotation is imparted to theshaft 109 through the medium of the gears 107 and 108. The shaft 109 istherefore turned in the same direction. f

The shaft 53 carries bevel gears 111 and 112, splined upon the shaft,so' that they are capable of being shifted longitudinally upon the shaftto rotate therewith. These gears are simultaneously shiftedlongitudinally by means of a frame 113, having a loose connectiontherewith, and pivoted toa hand lever at 115. Arranged between the.gears 111 and 112 is a bevel gear 115', rigidly secured to a stub shaft116, journaled through stationary bearing 117. A universal joint 1 18serves to pivotally connect one end of the stub shafty 116 with adriving shaft 119, extending rearwardly for connection with a stub shaft120, through the medium of a universal joint 121. The stub shaft 120 isjournaled through a bearin 122 and projects into a gear casing 123.lVithin this gear 'casing is a small gear 124, rigidly secured to theshaft 120, and engaging a large gear 125, rigidly secured to the rearend of the shaft 33. It is thus apparent that the rotation of the shaft53 is employed to drive the conveyer shaft 33 but this rotation isreduced. Attention is called to the fact that the elevating conveyer isdriven at a greater speed than the spiral conveyer, thereby eliminatingliability of overfeeding of the elevating conveyer.

The shaft 86 has' a bevel gear 126 rigidly secured thereto. This bevelgear engages a bevel gear 127, rigidly a tached to a shaft 127 to rotatethe same. The shaft 127 is journaled in a bearing 128 and has a bevelgear 129, rigidly secured thereto. This bevel gear 129 is arrangedbetween the bevel gears 111 and 112, .to be alternately engaged thereby.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

The engine 88 is operating when it is dey sired to have. the mechanicalStoker operate, and it is obvious that the engine may be started orstopped, in the usual manner. The shaft 109 is rotated in thedirectionofits arrow, which rotation is impa to the shaft 53, which rotates in thedirection of its arrow. The shaft 53 drives the conveyer 57 inthedirection of its arrow, whereby the coal or the like isx elevated anddischarged upon the inclined guide plate 74.

By properly shifting the lever 114 the spiral conveyer may be driven inthe direction of its arrow, to feed the coal into the hopper 39, suchcoal being suitably crushed or broken by the teeth or notches 35. Shouldthe coal become packed or clogged in the spiral conveyer, such packingmay be relieved by operating the conveyer in an opposite direction,which can be accomplished by swinging th lever 114 in a suitabledirection.

The coal from the conveyer 57 falls upon the inclined guide plate 74 anddischarges upon the plate 70, between the flanges or ribs 73. The pipeor nozzle 80 is now oscillating rearwardly of the flanges 73, and thusserves to force or blow the coal into the fire box, such coal passingtherein in forwardly divergin'g streams, to be evenly distributed in thefire-box.

If the apparatus should become impaired or inoperative, the crank 51would be turned to rotate the shaft 50, whereby the casing section 46would `be lowered to a point near or beneath the door opening 60. Theinclined guide plate 74 could then be removed.

The upper portion of the apparatus would s not therefore obstruct thefire-box opening 60, and coal could be fed through the opening 60 in theusual manner.

lt is to be understood that the lform of our invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a. preferred example of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size, `and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims. v

Having thus claim:

1. In a stoker for a railway locomotive, a hopper adapted to be rigidlysecured to the rear platform of the locomotive, an upstanding conveyercasing secured to the hopper 'and extending upwardly across the dooropening of the fire box of the locomotive for a substantial distance,said casing emdescribed our invention, we

bodying upper and lower sections, means to vertically adjust the uppersection with relation to the lower section, a lower plate removablymounted within the door opening o'f the fire box and having forwardly'diverging anges formed upon the upper yerating in conjunction with theflanges.

2. The combination with a door opening, of a' fire box of a railwaylocomotive, of a vertically swinging door section'hinged at the top ofthe door opening, a pair of horizontallyvswinging door Ysections hingedat the opposite ends of the door opening and having their ends spaced toprovide an opening, a conveyer casing provided at its upper end with avertically swingingv cap adapted when in the upper closed position toform a continuation of the same whereby the upper end of the casing isadapted to discharge into the opening, a conveyer operating within theconveyer casing, and fuel distributing means arranged within saidopening.

3. In a Stoker for a railway locomotive, a fuel magazine arranged withinthe lower portion of the tender of the locomotive and aving oppositelydisposed inclined sides which converge downwardly providing alongitudinal passage, a substantially horizontal track secured in thetender beneath the passage and extending longitudinally of the passage,a substantially horizontal conveyer-trough arranged above and extendinglongitudinally of the track and having its top open to receive coal fromthe passage, wheels carried by the conveyer-trough and traveling uponthe track, a closed tubular extension secured to the forward end of theconveyer-trough and projecting beyond the tender, said tubular extensionbeing provided near its free end with a substantially horizontalspherically curved hollow head, a hopper secured to the rear portion ofthe engine and provided, with a substantially horizontal sphericallycurved socket to receive the head, a conveyer operating within theconveyer-trough, and an elevating` conveyer arranged to conductthe fuelfrom the hopper to the re-box of the locomotive.l

In a Stoker for a railway locomotive, a downwardly discharging fuelmagazine arranged within the tender of the locomotive and having anoutlet passage, an approximately horizontal track carried by the tenderand extending longitudinally thereof beneath the outlet passage, anapproximately horizontal conveyer-trough arranged above and extendinglongitudinally of the track and having its top open toreceive fuel fromthe outlet passage, said conveyer-trough projecting forwardly beyond thetender and provided neartits free end with a substantially horizontalspherically curved hollow head, wheels carried by the conveyer-trough toengage the track, a hopper secured to the rear portion of the engine andprovided with a substantially curved socket to receive the head, aconveyer operating within the conveyer-trough, and an elevating conveyerto conduct the fuel from thevhopper to the fire-box of the locomotive.

5. In a stokerl Vfor a railway locomotive, a hopper secured to the rearportion of the-locomotive, an upstanding conveyer casing secured to thehopper and extending upwardly across the door opening of thelirehorizontal spherically Y box of the locomotive for a substantialdistance, said casing embodying upper and lower sections, means to movethe upper section downwardly with relation to the lower section toassume a position approximatelyv beneath said door opening, a supportingmember arranged within said door opening and adapted to be removedtherefrom when the upper section is lowered, fuel guide mea-ns carriedby the supporting member, fluid pressure operated means carried by thesupporting fuel into the fire-box of the locomotive, and a conveyeroperating within the upstanding conveyer casing.

6. In a stoker for a railway locomotive, a

hopper secured to the rear portion of the locomotive, an upstandingconveyer casing secured to the hopper and extending upwardly across thedoor opening of the firebox of the locomotive for a substantialdistance, said casing embodying upper and lower sections, means to movethe upper section downwardly `with relation to the lower section toassume a position near the bottom of the door opening whereby such dooropening is approximately unobstructed, a fluid pressure operatedapparatus mounted within the door opening and adapted to be removedtherefrom when said upper section is shifted to the lower position,ysaid Huid pressure. operated apparatus being adapted to discharge thefuel into the firebox of the locomotive, and a conveyer operating withinthe upstanding conveyer casing to feed the fuel from the hopper to thefluid pressure operated apparatus.

' 7. In a Stoker for a railway locomotive, a

fuel magazine arranged within the tender' of the locomotive, anapproximately horizontal conveyer trough extending longitudinally of thetender and receiving fuel from the r'fuel magazine, means whereby theconveyer trough is adapted to partake of longitudinal movements withrelation to the tender, an approximately horizontal spherically curvedhollow head connected with the forward end of the conveyer trough, ahoppei secured to, the rear portion of the engine and provided with anapproximately horizontal ceive the head, a conveyer operating within theconveyer trough, an upstanding conveyer casing secured to the hopper andextending upwardly across the door opening of the rebox of thelocomotive for a substantial distance, said casing embodying upper andvlower sections, means to move the upper section downwardly with relationto the lower section to assume a'position near the bottom of the dooropenlng whereby such doorl member to discharge the.

sphrically curved socket to re-r opening is approximatelyunobstructed,a,

fluid pressure /operated apparatus mounted within the door opening 'andadapted to be removed therefrom when said upper section- .130-

,is shifted to the lower position, said' Huid `n testimony whereof weaiix our signapressure operated apparatus being adapted tures inpresence of two witnesses.'

to discharge the fuel into the fire box 0f the ROBERT E. JACKSON.

locomotive, and a oonveyer operating With- BYRD O. YEARWOOD. 5 in theupstanding conveyer casing to feed the Witnesses: o

fuel from the hopper to the Huid pressure ,Y o W. P. DAVIS, J

operated apparatus. Jos. H.EVANS.

